In South Los Angeles, Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson was leading his two opponents by an enormous margin. In the central San Fernando Valley, Councilmember Imelda Padilla held a huge lead over her two opponents.

Meanwhile, in the northwest Valley, Councilmember John Lee opened up a substantial double-digit lead over his opponent, nonprofit leader Serena Oberstein, early results showed.

Councilmember Kevin de León was leading his seven opponents in his Eastside district, while Councilmember Nithya Raman was ahead of her two challengers in her race to represent a district that reaches from Silver Lake to San Fernando Valley.

Councilmember Heather Hutt, who was appointed to her seat in 2022, was leading in a five-way race to represent a district stretching from Koreatown to the Crenshaw corridor, according to early returns.

Thirty-one candidates were competing in contests that will help determine the future of the city’s fight against homelessness, its approach to policing and public safety, and its ongoing efforts to make housing more affordable, particularly for L.A.’s renters.

Any candidate who receives more than 50% of the vote will avoid a runoff in November. Early returns showed Harris-Dawson, Padilla and Lee well above that percentage.

Six of the seven races feature incumbents who are seeking a four-year term.

On the Eastside, De León was running ahead of state Assemblymember Miguel Santiago, who was in second place, according to early returns. Tenant rights attorney Ysabel Jurado was in third place, while Assemblymember Wendy Carrillo was in fourth, early returns showed.

De León, a former state lawmaker, has been attempting a comeback after being at the center of a scandal over a secretly recorded conversation with former colleagues that featured racist and derogatory remarks. Since then, he has repeatedly apologized for his role in that conversation, which took place in October 2021.

In an interview late Tuesday evening, De León said his campaign was about delivering “real results” for the district’s residents and “staying committed to the community.”

“We worked really hard. We defied many expectations,” he said. “The night is still young, but I like where we’re at.”

Santiago, addressing a cheering crowd at Casa Fina Restaurant and Cantina in Boyle Heights, said he is looking forward to the November runoff election.

“We’ve got Round 2. We know we’re going to make this happen,” Santiago said Tuesday night. “I’m fired up.”

Jurado, appearing at her election party in Highland Park, said she remained confident she would advance to the runoff election once all the votes are counted. Voters across the district, she said, want “radical, transformative change.”

“This is just the beginning,” she said.

In the northwest Valley, Lee had been under fire from an opponent who focused heavily on an ongoing Ethics Commission case that targets him. That case deals with allegations that Lee violated laws governing the reporting and acceptance of gifts. Lee has denied the allegations.

Appearing at his election party in Granada Hills, Lee received an embrace from Councilmember Curren Price, who is facing criminal charges. The crowd broke into cheers as the first results showed him with a commanding lead over his opponent.

Lee, addressing the crowd, said voters in the district “spoke loudly.”

“The message that was sent tonight was clear — that people live in City Council District 12 because they want to live somewhere where there are safe neighborhoods, where there are good schools, where people take the time to actually get to know their neighbors.”

Oberstein said she’s waiting for the rest of the votes to be counted.

“I didn’t take on an entrenched incumbent and his more than $1 million of special interest money because it would be easy,” she said. “I did it because our community deserves so much more than the status quo that has allowed corruption to run rampant at City Hall for years.”

In a district that straddles the Hollywood Hills, Raman was leading Deputy City Atty. Ethan Weaver, who was in second place. Raman said she ran a strong campaign, with canvassers knocking on tens of thousands of doors. At the same time, she said, her reelection campaign had been targeted by an “unprecedented” amount of outside money.

Weaver received a huge boost from the firefighters union, the police officers union, commercial and residential landlords and other donors, who spent a combined $1.35 million on his behalf. Those donors repeatedly attacked Raman over such issues as homelessness and public safety.

“It’s been incredibly painful watching the flood of money that comes into this district,” Raman told supporters at a restaurant in Silver Lake. “A million and a half dollars trying to keep a vision of Los Angeles that helps people rather than harms people down. A million and a half dollars. What does that do to a district? What does that do to a city?”

Weaver, in an interview, said he was feeling “really optimistic” about his prospects. Asked about Raman’s remarks, he said he had built “the biggest coalition of union support of any candidate in the race.”

“I’ve built a coalition of unions and business leaders and community,” he said. “It isn’t just one thing. It represents the diversity of our district being upset with the status quo and wanting change.”

Software engineer Levon “Lev” Baronian was in third place behind Raman and Weaver, according to early returns.

L.A.’s election results could easily change over the coming hours and days. On election night in June 2022, then-Councilmember Gil Cedillo was leading his opponent, Eunisses Hernandez, only to lose the race later that month.

In November 2022, businessman Rick Caruso was in first place in the mayoral race on election night, only to lose to then-Rep. Karen Bass in the days that followed.

Hutt, who represents a portion of South Los Angeles, opened up a lead Tuesday in her first campaign for the seat, to which she was appointed in 2022 after criminal charges were filed against former Councilmember Mark Ridley-Thomas.

Asked about the results Tuesday evening, Hutt said she was “excited to move forward and do more for our constituents.”

“This is, at least for me, about representing the community that I love,” she said.

Grace Yoo, who was in second place, voiced optimism about her own campaign, saying she‘d focused heavily on the issues of public safety and “honest government.”

“I’m glad our message resonated,” she said.

Pastor Eddie Anderson, a community organizer, was in third place; Aura Vasquez, a former city commissioner, was in fourth; and Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer was fifth.

The only contest without an incumbent was taking place in the east San Fernando Valley, where seven candidates were seeking to fill the seat being vacated this year by council President Paul Krekorian, first elected in 2009.

Former Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian, a former Krekorian aide, was leading the pack in that contest, followed by commissioner Sam Kbushyan. Small-business owner Jillian Burgos was in third, while housing advocate Manny Gonez was in fourth, according to early returns.

Nazarian, who spent a decade in the state Assembly, said he heard a lot of discontent in the district, which takes in all or part of North Hollywood, Valley Village, Toluca Lake, Valley Glen, Studio City and other neighborhoods. Voters are frustrated with homelessness, he said, and “fed up” with the corruption cases that resulted in convictions of three former council members.

“I think people are frustrated. They’re tired. And they want to see integrity restored to the council,” he said. “They want to have elected officials who will serve them honorably and with integrity.”

Kbushyan, watching the results at his campaign headquarters in Valley Glen, said the results show that district residents want a different approach to homelessness and public safety.

“I’m proud of the effort that my team put into this,” he said. “We worked hard. We left nothing on the table.”